No key market news has been announced in the United States today but stocks are down following news from Spain and investors’ growing concern over upcoming quarterly corporate earnings reports. The “liquidity-infused high from QE3” is wearing off and investors are beginning “to worry that corporate earnings will not only be down, but be worse than expected,” said Keith Springer, president of Springer Financial Advisors in Sacramento, California.

Gold and Silver were also down today with continued news of slowing demand in China and India. “While the market has been going up on the stimulus fever, lack of support from physical demand is putting some pressure on prices,” said Marc Ground, a commodity strategist at Standard Bank in Johannesburg. As the U.S. Gold price continues to largely track the euro, investors will await news from the eurozone for word on a Spanish assistance program.

At 1 p.m. (EDT) the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:

Gold, $1,779.80, Down $4.70.

Silver, $34.82, Down $0.13.

Platinum, $1,684.90, Up $2.10.

Palladium, $654.50, Up $8.00.

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The stock market is down today as American investors paused following six straight weeks of gains on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Also, European officials exposed a supposed plan to cap European bond yields, which hindered investor confidence even as the European Central Bank insists that no decision on the matter has been made.

The dollar is trading down against the euro today. Economists and investors alike are awaiting any possible hints that the United States will embark on a third round of quantitative easing (QE3) from the minutes of the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), set to be released Wednesday. Modestly positive data from the recent FOMC meeting point to delaying QE3. Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management Group, said, “Even though the minutes are going to reflect they are leaving the door open, the odds have fallen since then because we’ve seen improvement in some of the data.” However, Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, believes newfound investor confidence is potentially risky. He said, “Investor sentiment has turned more optimistic in recent weeks. This could be problematic, given that sentiment is approaching extreme optimism at a time when the seasonal headwinds begin to surface.” Investors will wait to see if these seasonal headwinds will effect Precious Metals as the traditionally slow summer months come to an end.

U.S. stocks dropped today following a five-week rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The dip comes following news of disappointing economic data from Japan. Economists projecting 2.7% GDP growth for the country in the second quarter received figures that expansion fell short by reporting only 1.4% growth. Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. stated, “Japan was a little weaker than expected. It might raise hopes that there might be some central bank coordination, but I’m not seeing that in any of the markets today.”

The Gold price continues to trade flat at the halfway point today, even as the dollar is down against the euro for the first time in four sessions. Though the euro is up slightly, there are still expectations that the European Central Bank will soon step in with measures to stimulate a lagging European economy. Global head of currency strategy at Brown Brother Harriman, Marc Chandler said today, “The euro is well below the highs of last week and today we are seeing some short-covering, but the move today is generally uninspired in a lackluster session.” Economic analysts predict the euro to remain fairly steady until September 12 when the German constitutional court declares its decision regarding fiscal discipline and a proposed “rescue fund” for the eurozone. U.S. investors are also anxious at the prospect of more government stimulus as the much anticipated news of a third round of quantitative easing is expected to drive Precious Metals prices up dramatically.